Tue 12 to Thu 21Feb 2013

Hearing on sinking of HMS Bounty during Sandy held

The US Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are scheduled to hold a formal hearing into the sinking of the tall ship HMS Bounty
after it went down in October during Hurricane Sandy, killing two crew.

According to the coast guard, the investigation will examine
the circumstances of the sinking and offer recommendations to improve
the safety of similar vessels.

The Bounty sank approximately 145 kilometres southeast of Hatteras,
NC, sweeping Capt. Robin Wallbridge overboard in hurricane-churned
waters. The body of the 63-year-old captain was never recovered.

The coast guard rescued 14 crew members after they abandoned the ship
in two life-rafts, but 42-year-old Claudene Christian later died after
the rescue.

The 54-metre replica tall ship was built in Lunenburg, NS in 1960 to be used in the 1962 Marlon Brando film Mutiny on the Bounty.